Post by Nygil, Nickolie on Mar 28, 2011 16:57:58 GMT -5
Simple Premise: Flying fortress that moves between worlds, it has it's own teleporter, and is shielded against all other forms of travel. The PC's are 'kidnapped' or allowed on from their own home worlds and then whisked off in to adveture in the stars. This means we pick worlds, 1 each day we play, and have the all missions on a given day on the same world. Ex: thursday the 3rd, desert world with a dieing sun, Monday the 7th, water world with dire sharks.
I am thinking that each PC will have a 'tracer' in them, like a gem teleported in to them so the fortress/ship can track them. This lets us do the club game sort of thing easy, and lets us add/remove PCs mid mission if we need to.
Plot: At first it will be, 'oh god we are in space!' then it will be more 'monster of the week' flowing in to a 'save the universe from a cosmic baddie' (no idea what just yet). The idea is the fortress flies between stars. It takes time, but nothing can get to/from it while it is moving. Then it arrives at a new star and the people can go to the world(s) in that system, then when the ship is ready to go it teleports everyone back and leaves.
Starting Level, and leveling: Low, like 3 or 4 is good starting point. Still allows half dragons, but they take it in the butt thanks to LA. As for leveling, we are not likely to see more than 48 game days, tops. More likely 30 – 36 so leveling speed could be as high as every 2 games or as low as every 4-5 games. I like ever 4 games... 2 weeks a level, leveling up on a set day.
Quest Giving(ers): I think focusing less on quest givers would be good. As for how we hand out missions... have the partys teleported to the mission, THEN give them the mission briefing. Maybe let them pick groups not knowing DM or mission... hmmm
Item Mechanics: I say we pick a list of items that are 'sold' or 'made' in the fort. The PC's can buy those between missions, but NOTHING ELSE. Anything else they need to get while on world, in others words from a DM. This lets us control items much better and we can work with PC's if they have request... it also keeps them from cherry picking things custom making stuff.
Death: I like dieing being a thing that matters, but being a level behind is dumb and hard to track. Lets say, if you die, the fort teleports your body back up and rebuilds you or awakens a clone of you. Coming back to life deals a level special negitive level that heal at a rate of 1 per two missions. No GP cost, just -5 hp, -1 to all d20 rolls and can not cast your highest level spell. Maybe have a deformitiy chart as well... roll on that.. [evil laugh]
New charaters: Everyone gets one new charater after the first, this year. If you want to make a third one, you do so at the same level and wealth but you get 1 negitive level that does NOT go away. +1 more each time you make a new one AFTER THAT. Also if you drop an old charater it is let off the fort, and is never brought back.... ever.
Hit Points: I liked Max Hp, I think we should stick with it.
Ban List: We should have a clear ban list, leaving no room for questions. Like a list of approved things... anything not on that list is just clearly banned. We also need to mkae this list clear to our PCs, maybe have it in print even. Requests can be made of things not on it.... but still, MUST ask if not on the list... no matter how simple.
Simple Things: PC's must keep track of things like weight and Food... at least in 1st semester. Even mudane goods need to be written on the sheet or they count for nothing.
Down Time: Giving the fortress a not so set time between missions/planets is kind of cool as well. Sometimes it could be 1 day between sessions in game, and other times 3 months. This allows for a little bit of playing around on the forums and so on for PC's, and makes it less a 'weekly' thing. Even give the PC's trouble... to much down time... or one is sick and starts to make the others sick.... fun ideas.
Something New: Ever other week we should have a DM meeting. Make it one hour before a normal play time, or something else easy to get to and easy to recall. At this meeting we sort out what has happened and what will soon happen. We try and plan who will be where when, and so on. It would help everything flow and match.
Game Day: We would again pick two days of the week, and a time on each day to start. We would pick a 'finish' time to aim for and book rooms to suit. These days/times would be picked based on when the DM's could DM... with out them nothing happens anyway.
XP: We should give the PC's 'xp' to pay xp costs, but it is nothing to do with leveling up. Hell, they could use it for crafting or other such things.... even trade it in for GP on the fortress. Use it to pay for psychic reform (see below). Maybe give set amounts like as part of the loot table. DM's can give bonus's for doing awesome stuff. Maybe trade in XP for GP at a 1 to 10 rate...ish.
Psychic Reformation: This should be a machine on the fort. Stick head in, pay XP, get a thing changed. Set prices, simple as that. Ex: 2xp to change a skill rank, 25 xp to change a sorcerer/favoured soul/wilder power/spell chosen, and 55 xp to change a feat... maybe 115 xp to change a class level.
GP: I think each date should have a range per player, not a set amount. Like in place of 3000gp, we should have 1500gp to 4500gp listed. Lower end for easy or failed missions, and higher end for hard, or really well done missions. Also we should pay less than we did this year... roughly 80%.
Loot, XP, Event, Level, Planet Chart: This would be a list of each day... so say we plan on having 44 game days, leveling every 4 days. Then it would have 44 rows, one for each day. It would have 8 (Eight) colums, one for the DATE, one for the amount of GP they should get that day, one for the Level they are at on that day, one for the amount of XP they get for living, one for the amount of XP a 'awesome thing' is worth that day, one for the world/star system they are in on that day, one for the amount of down time until the next mission, and the last one for any notes the DM should know about for that day.
The Big Bad: I have a great plan, or rather half a plan for this. We have a big bad start early. Like really soon in the year. The Neogi. They are space slavers, and can move between worlds. They want the Fort. They do bad things, make them the 'big bad' out to get the fort, the PC's, and slaves from every world. Then, surprise the PC's by having the last game 1st semester end with the Neogi attacking the fort itself in space, mid flight. Have them fight, and end in a cliff hanger. Have the frist game second semester result in the PC's destorying the Neogi Leader/home world/power or some such... more or less winning...... then have a bigger bad form (still not sure what that is... but is should be like Galactis in scale)
SRD: I am going to give all PC's who ask for it a downloaded copy of the SRD, so it is free and all the core rules easy to flip through.
I am thinking that each PC will have a 'tracer' in them, like a gem teleported in to them so the fortress/ship can track them. This lets us do the club game sort of thing easy, and lets us add/remove PCs mid mission if we need to.
Plot: At first it will be, 'oh god we are in space!' then it will be more 'monster of the week' flowing in to a 'save the universe from a cosmic baddie' (no idea what just yet). The idea is the fortress flies between stars. It takes time, but nothing can get to/from it while it is moving. Then it arrives at a new star and the people can go to the world(s) in that system, then when the ship is ready to go it teleports everyone back and leaves.
Starting Level, and leveling: Low, like 3 or 4 is good starting point. Still allows half dragons, but they take it in the butt thanks to LA. As for leveling, we are not likely to see more than 48 game days, tops. More likely 30 – 36 so leveling speed could be as high as every 2 games or as low as every 4-5 games. I like ever 4 games... 2 weeks a level, leveling up on a set day.
Quest Giving(ers): I think focusing less on quest givers would be good. As for how we hand out missions... have the partys teleported to the mission, THEN give them the mission briefing. Maybe let them pick groups not knowing DM or mission... hmmm
Item Mechanics: I say we pick a list of items that are 'sold' or 'made' in the fort. The PC's can buy those between missions, but NOTHING ELSE. Anything else they need to get while on world, in others words from a DM. This lets us control items much better and we can work with PC's if they have request... it also keeps them from cherry picking things custom making stuff.
Death: I like dieing being a thing that matters, but being a level behind is dumb and hard to track. Lets say, if you die, the fort teleports your body back up and rebuilds you or awakens a clone of you. Coming back to life deals a level special negitive level that heal at a rate of 1 per two missions. No GP cost, just -5 hp, -1 to all d20 rolls and can not cast your highest level spell. Maybe have a deformitiy chart as well... roll on that.. [evil laugh]
New charaters: Everyone gets one new charater after the first, this year. If you want to make a third one, you do so at the same level and wealth but you get 1 negitive level that does NOT go away. +1 more each time you make a new one AFTER THAT. Also if you drop an old charater it is let off the fort, and is never brought back.... ever.
Hit Points: I liked Max Hp, I think we should stick with it.
Ban List: We should have a clear ban list, leaving no room for questions. Like a list of approved things... anything not on that list is just clearly banned. We also need to mkae this list clear to our PCs, maybe have it in print even. Requests can be made of things not on it.... but still, MUST ask if not on the list... no matter how simple.
Simple Things: PC's must keep track of things like weight and Food... at least in 1st semester. Even mudane goods need to be written on the sheet or they count for nothing.
Down Time: Giving the fortress a not so set time between missions/planets is kind of cool as well. Sometimes it could be 1 day between sessions in game, and other times 3 months. This allows for a little bit of playing around on the forums and so on for PC's, and makes it less a 'weekly' thing. Even give the PC's trouble... to much down time... or one is sick and starts to make the others sick.... fun ideas.
Something New: Ever other week we should have a DM meeting. Make it one hour before a normal play time, or something else easy to get to and easy to recall. At this meeting we sort out what has happened and what will soon happen. We try and plan who will be where when, and so on. It would help everything flow and match.
Game Day: We would again pick two days of the week, and a time on each day to start. We would pick a 'finish' time to aim for and book rooms to suit. These days/times would be picked based on when the DM's could DM... with out them nothing happens anyway.
XP: We should give the PC's 'xp' to pay xp costs, but it is nothing to do with leveling up. Hell, they could use it for crafting or other such things.... even trade it in for GP on the fortress. Use it to pay for psychic reform (see below). Maybe give set amounts like as part of the loot table. DM's can give bonus's for doing awesome stuff. Maybe trade in XP for GP at a 1 to 10 rate...ish.
Psychic Reformation: This should be a machine on the fort. Stick head in, pay XP, get a thing changed. Set prices, simple as that. Ex: 2xp to change a skill rank, 25 xp to change a sorcerer/favoured soul/wilder power/spell chosen, and 55 xp to change a feat... maybe 115 xp to change a class level.
GP: I think each date should have a range per player, not a set amount. Like in place of 3000gp, we should have 1500gp to 4500gp listed. Lower end for easy or failed missions, and higher end for hard, or really well done missions. Also we should pay less than we did this year... roughly 80%.
Loot, XP, Event, Level, Planet Chart: This would be a list of each day... so say we plan on having 44 game days, leveling every 4 days. Then it would have 44 rows, one for each day. It would have 8 (Eight) colums, one for the DATE, one for the amount of GP they should get that day, one for the Level they are at on that day, one for the amount of XP they get for living, one for the amount of XP a 'awesome thing' is worth that day, one for the world/star system they are in on that day, one for the amount of down time until the next mission, and the last one for any notes the DM should know about for that day.
The Big Bad: I have a great plan, or rather half a plan for this. We have a big bad start early. Like really soon in the year. The Neogi. They are space slavers, and can move between worlds. They want the Fort. They do bad things, make them the 'big bad' out to get the fort, the PC's, and slaves from every world. Then, surprise the PC's by having the last game 1st semester end with the Neogi attacking the fort itself in space, mid flight. Have them fight, and end in a cliff hanger. Have the frist game second semester result in the PC's destorying the Neogi Leader/home world/power or some such... more or less winning...... then have a bigger bad form (still not sure what that is... but is should be like Galactis in scale)
SRD: I am going to give all PC's who ask for it a downloaded copy of the SRD, so it is free and all the core rules easy to flip through.